Artificial intelligence, as a strategic technology leading the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, is profoundly reshaping the global development landscape of the manufacturing industry. As a major industrial and manufacturing province in China, Shandong boasts a comprehensive range of industries, rich application scenarios, and a solid foundation for transformation. It regards the comprehensive and deep integration of AI to empower manufacturing as the key to achieving the leap from "Shandong Manufacturing" to "Shandong Intelligent Manufacturing."

On May 21, the Shandong Provincial Government Information Office held a regular policy briefing to interpret the "Shandong Province 'Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing' Action Plan" and supporting policies. The plan clearly sets the core goal of achieving over 250 billion yuan in operating revenue for the province's AI industry by 2028, accounting for more than 10% of the national total. It aims to fully build a growth pole for the AI industry in northern China and a new highland for national demonstration applications. The number of national leading-level smart factories ranks first in the country.

In recent years, Shandong has positioned AI-enabled manufacturing as the "top priority project" in building a strong advanced manufacturing province, promoting it across the entire region with focused breakthroughs. Significant achievements have been made in both industrial development and scenario application, laying a solid foundation for the effective implementation of the three-year action plan.

In 2025, the core AI industry revenue in Shandong reached 128.93 billion yuan, accounting for about one-tenth of the national total, a year-on-year increase of 39.2%. The province has 1,124 key AI R&D and service enterprises, forming a complete industrial ecosystem covering large models, intelligent agents, big data, and high-performance computing. Large model industry revenue was 6.38 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 104.5%, with 266 products passing evaluations. Twenty projects were selected as national typical application cases, ranking first in the country. Data element support capabilities continue to strengthen, with data collection and governance enterprises generating 22.56 billion yuan in revenue. Corpora now cover all 31 major manufacturing categories, and Shandong leads the nation in both the "Open Data Index" and the number of enterprises achieving data standards.

The intelligent computing power support system is rapidly taking shape. In 2025, the intelligent computing industry scale exceeded 100 billion yuan, with intelligent computing power accounting for over 51%. A total of 234 computing centers have been built, with a total computing power scale of approximately 23.18 Eflops. Twenty-two provincial-level intelligent computing centers with over 100 Petaflops have established a "1 national + N provincial" service system. The China Computing Valley public service platform has served over 1,600 entities. The intelligent transformation of the entire manufacturing sector is steadily progressing, with the AI application penetration rate among large-scale manufacturing enterprises exceeding 35%. The number of national leading-level and excellent-level smart factories ranks first and second in the country, respectively. The province has built 130 industrial brains and 5,657 Morning Star factories. Investments in intelligent transformation, the number of related projects, and the proportion of new output value accounted for approximately 40%, 50%, and over 60%, respectively.

An Wenjian, Deputy Director-General and First-Level Inspector of the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, stated that Shandong's policy and ecosystem support are continuously improving. Tools such as computing vouchers, model vouchers, corpus vouchers, and scenario vouchers have been precisely implemented. A 2 billion yuan industrial fund works in synergy with a system of "loans, equity, insurance, and guarantees." Disciplinary development and talent cultivation are advancing simultaneously, providing a solid guarantee for the industry's sustained development.

The "Shandong Province 'Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing' Action Plan (2026-2028)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan") was jointly formulated by the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and multiple departments. It comprehensively promotes the deep integration of AI and manufacturing, outlining a clear development blueprint for the next three years. By 2028, the operating revenue of the province's AI industry is targeted to exceed 250 billion yuan, accounting for over 10% of the national total. Key breakthroughs are expected in the R&D of industrial general-purpose large models, with a basic industry-specific large model system established. The plan aims to build about 10 pioneering applications and a batch of AI capability centers, promote around 100 high-value scenarios, and fully build a growth pole for the AI industry in northern China and a new highland for national demonstration applications.

Based on Shandong's industrial reality and following the requirements for developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions, the plan establishes three major development principles: scenario-driven, classified implementation, and a sound ecosystem. It uses scenarios as a bridge to connect technology and industry, promoting AI application around 19 iconic industrial chains and 18 types of high-value scenarios across six key links. It implements "one policy per industry" and "one policy per enterprise" to meet the transformation needs of different entities, focusing on five key elements—capital, talent, standards, platforms, and security—to build a collaborative development mechanism.

To achieve these goals, Shandong will systematically implement six major actions: breakthrough in product quality and quantity, cultivation of supply-side enterprises, empowerment through comprehensive application, enhancement of innovation capability, support for key elements, and safeguarding through security governance. Efforts will be made comprehensively across dimensions such as the computing infrastructure, enterprise echelons, scenario coverage, technological breakthroughs, element guarantees, and security prevention, promoting the deep integration of AI across the entire manufacturing chain, all elements, and all scenarios, and accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces.

To ensure the effective implementation of the Action Plan, Shandong has simultaneously issued the "Several Policy Measures to Support the High-Quality Development of Artificial Intelligence Empowering Manufacturing" (hereinafter referred to as the "Policy Measures"). It introduces 25 articles comprising 50 specific measures and plans to allocate over 10 billion yuan in fiscal funds over the next three years. A combination of tools including loan interest subsidies, risk compensation, and equity investment will be used to stimulate market vitality. The policies focus on expanding the empowerment space through scenario-driven approaches, implementing subsidies via model vouchers and scenario vouchers, supporting 30 vertical large models and 30 benchmark projects annually, promoting intelligent and digital transformation as well as energy-saving and carbon reduction retrofits in traditional industries, and achieving chain-wide transformation through a "unveiling the list and taking command" mechanism.

Focusing on product innovation to cultivate intelligent business formats, the policies promote the integration of AI and industrial software, subsidize intelligent terminal products, support the application of humanoid robots and industrial robots, include innovative products in the first-set insurance subsidy program, and drive the transformation of manufacturing models towards service-oriented models. Focusing on carrier cultivation to strengthen the enterprise echelon, they support the gradient cultivation of smart factories, support the construction of AI capability centers, increase incentives for specialized and sophisticated SMEs, and improve the industrial internet and digital transformation public service platforms.

Focusing on strengthening the foundation to solidify core support, they use computing vouchers to reduce usage costs and corpus vouchers to strengthen dataset construction, accelerating the construction of pilot-scale platforms and the commercialization of results.

Focusing on ecosystem optimization to improve the guarantee system, they establish industrial funds to guide long-term capital investment, strengthen the introduction and cultivation of interdisciplinary talent and intellectual property protection, deepen regional collaborative cooperation, and promote the expansion of "Shandong Intelligent Manufacturing" in domestic and international markets.

Under the guidance of provincial policies, cities and leading enterprises in Shandong are taking proactive steps and pioneering trials, forming a favorable situation of coordinated efforts from top to bottom, with AI-empowered manufacturing practices flourishing everywhere.

Weifang City, as one of China's top 100 advanced manufacturing cities, has allocated 31.5 million yuan in special funds to introduce distinctive support policies. It has built six provincial-level key industry corpora. A project led by Weichai Power was selected for the national first batch of high-quality dataset pilot programs. The city is cultivating a multi-level smart factory echelon and released the province's first vertical large model for the petrochemical refining industry. Moving forward, it will focus on product innovation, scenario empowerment, and ecosystem optimization, aiming to increase the AI application penetration rate among machinery manufacturing enterprises to over 50%.

As a leading enterprise in the industrial chain, Inspur ranks first in China and second globally in server market share. It possesses one foundational large model and 18 industry-specific large models, has created a model for implementing AI factories, and its industrial internet platform strength ranks among the top in the country. In the future, it will continue to solidify the computing infrastructure, develop industrial large models, deepen scenario applications, assist in the transformation of SMEs, and leverage its leading role to build a collaborative ecosystem.

As a national leading-level smart factory, Weichai Power has achieved AI empowerment across the entire value chain, including R&D, production, operation and maintenance, supply chain, and services. This has significantly shortened new product development cycles and order delivery times, substantially reduced equipment failure risks and operational costs, and continuously improved inventory turnover rates and customer benefits. In the future, it will continue to optimize its "Qitian Large Model," empower 500 industrial chain partners within three years, and drive the overall leap in the intelligent level of the province's equipment manufacturing industry.

Currently, the deep integration of AI and manufacturing has become a core trend for the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Leveraging its complete industrial system, solid digital foundation, precise policy support, and active market entities, Shandong is at the forefront of AI-empowered manufacturing in China.

Looking ahead to 2028, Shandong will be guided by the "Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing" Action Plan, adhering to the principles of "leveraging advantages, identifying tracks, supporting key areas, and creating distinctive features." It will implement the AI "Double Hundred Project," cultivate distinctive enterprises and excellent products, strengthen the enterprise cultivation database, promote the coordinated development of different types of entities, enhance the public service capabilities of the China Computing Valley, build a three-tier AI capability center system, cultivate typical scenarios, leverage policies to create demonstration effects, establish high-end exchange platforms, and strengthen supply-demand matching.

From breaking through in industrial scale to tackling technological innovation, from widespread scenario application to perfecting the ecosystem, Shandong is using artificial intelligence as its core engine to accelerate the transformation of manufacturing towards intelligence, green development, and integration. It is fully forging a new名片 for a "Strong Intelligent Manufacturing Province," contributing Shandong's solutions and strength to the national development of new industrialization.

Shandong "Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing" Action Plan: The Three-Year Development Blueprint ● By 2028, the operating revenue of the province's AI industry will exceed 250 billion yuan, accounting for over 10% of the national total. ● Key breakthroughs will be achieved in the R&D of industrial general-purpose large models, and a basic industry-specific large model system will be formed. ● About 10 pioneering applications and a batch of AI capability centers will be built, promoting around 100 high-value scenarios. ● The goal is to fully build a growth pole for the AI industry in northern China and a new highland for national demonstration applications.